Some Things to Keep in Mind When You Read Here, and Comment

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I haven’t written a post like this for a long time, I used to write posts like this pretty frequently; just to keep things clear about how I operate here at my personal blog. I’m a 42 year old full grown man, with a family, responsibilities, so on and so forth. I’ve been “full time” blogging since 2005, even through a terminal cancer (that for some Providential reason I lived through). I just want to
mosaicbobbymake clear why and how I blog, and the expectations I bring to it. I don’t blog to place myself under anyone’s “accountability”; I don’t blog to open myself up to personal attacks or opinions about who the reader perceives me to be, or thinks I should be; I don’t blog (necessarily) to make “friends” (or enemies); I don’t blog in order to figure out how to communicate so the masses can understand. I blog in order to learn, primarily. I will blog and write about whatever topic I want, whenever I want; that’s one of the points of having a personal blog. If you don’t like what I write, or the topics I choose to write on, then either don’t read them or at the least don’t tell me about it (I don’t care). Also one more thing, don’t be passive-aggressive in your comments. If you are going to take a run at me, and my ideas, then expect me to push back in kind. And if I do push back don’t default to some sort of passive posture, I don’t respect that at all.

That said, I’ve almost always left comments open, and do enjoy engaging in discourse and commenting. But with one caveat (again shaped by what I wrote above), I appreciate comments that engage materially with whatever I have written in a particular post. If you think something I wrote is not understandable, then ask me to clarify prior to launching into a critique of what I didn’t write, or what you THINK I wrote; I don’t respect that, and it “triggers” me. I’m generally a nice person, and I love Jesus, but I won’t be “pushed” around online (or in person), particularly on my blog.

For the moment I am going to turn on the comment moderation function here at the blog. I think that would be wise for me to do that, and not as cumbersome as it used to be; since people rarely comment on blogs anymore (they reserve that for FaceBook and Twitter it seems).

Love you.

5 thoughts on “Some Things to Keep in Mind When You Read Here, and Comment”

  1. Bobby, I don’t always read your posts because they involve heavy duty thinking and I’m not always in the mood to work my mind. But, I do appreciate your sensitive heart and theological mind. You have done your homework! I also admire the depth of your study especially in Torrance and Barth.

    It is so sad that the communication revolution created by the internet also bred trolls. I confess, I don’t get why they do what they do. All the good blogs have to deal with the issue of being trolled. You don’t deserve that kind of nonsense.

    You and I did not see eye-to-eye when you were a student. I’ll take the blame for that. So that is why I’m so glad to get to know you in a more positive way through your blog and Facebook. Keep up the good work!

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  2. Ron,

    Thank you so much for your encouragement. I sometimes get riled up because of some comments, but I’ve seen some good come out of even that sometimes.

    Yeah, social media/internet has created a whole new way of thinking and communicating, indeed (not always for the good). I was just thinking about how it went from blogs to Facebook/Twitter. Blogs allow for a longer attention span, now FaceBook/Twitter/SnapChat et al have compressed that attention span down even smaller. It impacts the way we all think, in more fragmented less concentrated ways; that’s still why I appreciate blogging. It still allows for more space and longer more thoughtful communication of ideas and response.

    I don’t remember how you and I didn’t see eye-to-eye when I was a student. In what way did we disagree? That was such a hard time for me; moving to a new school in the city (from Temecula), between my sophomore and junior years. I went from being a 3.6/3.7 student in all my previous work to Brethren to a 2.5 student at BCHS. It was the social impact that really did it to me (i.e. trying to make friends w/ people who had been friends since junior high if not longer). Anyway, glad 1992 and graduation finally came 🙂 .

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  4. Sounds reasonable to me Bobby …
    I’m not aware of your history in this area having just signed up to your blog but from what I have read so far you are judicious and careful and so, if misunderstood, it seems like it’s probably a function of the reader’s own presumptions. Keep blogging brother – I for one am already benefiting from your thoughts. Blessings all in Jesus.

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